Apparatus for stapling sheets into pads



April 26, 1966 D. J. DE FRANCIS ETAL 3,248,033

APPARATUS FOR STAPLING SHEETS INTO PADS Filed June 24.v 1965 I 3Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Denim/ck pea h/m3 James M. Foofis V Lot/LS 7..5faais, .511

Apnl 26,1966 D. J. DE FRANCIS ETAL APPARATUS FOR STAPLING SHEETS INTOPADS Filed June 24. 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS 1 4 65017613 mm N. Rm r L ma ww m ILN.

amlhlk/z James 47. Louis 7'. 5faaf3,.$n

M X ATTORNEY April 26, 1966" 37 sfapler APPARATUS FOR STAPLING SHEETSINTO PADS Filed June 24. 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 Power Rack 1 WWW HXATTORNEY 3,248,033 APPARATUS FOR STAPLING SHEETS INTO PADS Dominick J.De Francis, 413 Eastman Road, and James M. Fooks, 31 Paschall Road,-bothof Wilmington, Del., and Louis T. Staats, Sr., Rte. 1, LincolnUniversity,

Filed June 24, 1965, Ser. No. 466,743 12 Claims. (Cl. 227-100) Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of our copending applicationSerial No. 275,289, filed April 24, 1963, for Apparatus for StaplingSheets into Pads, now Patent No. 3,191,838, issued June 29, 1965.

The apparatus in accordance with our aforementioned earlier applicationincludes a trough-like holder having a loading station for receiving aset of juxtaposed sheets, a stapling station with one or more staplingpositions, and conveyor means for delivering the juxtaposed sheets fromthe loading station against a stop in the stapling station so that thesheets are properly edge-aligned prior to stapling. v

The principal object of the present invention is to structurally andfunctionally improve upon the apparatus of our earlier application, onesuch improvement involving the provision of means for jogging thejuxtaposed sheets at the loading station into proper edge-alignment andalso into proper contact with the conveyor means, so that the properlypositioned set of sheets may then be transferred by the conveyormeansfrom the loading to the stapling station.

Another feature of the invention resides in theprovision of a solenoidactuated anvil at the stapling station for coaction with the stapler,such anvil being self-adjusting to automatically compensate fordifferent number of sheets and resultant thickness of the stapled pad.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of aclock-driven timer switch control for sequentially coordinating theoperation of the various electrical components of the apparatus in acyclic manner.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designatelike parts,

and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan View of the Stapling Apparatus in accordance withthe present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view thereof, taken in the direction ofthe arrow 2 in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is'a vertical, longitudinal sectional view, taken substantiallyin the plane of thejline 3-3 in FIG. 1; FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary,enlarged view, partlyin elevation and partly in section, of the staplemagazine;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, enlarged vertical sectional view of thesolenoid-actuated anvil;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary underside plan view of the anvil shown in FIG.5; e

FIGURE 7 is an elevational viewof a modified jogging pulley; and 4FIGURE 8 is a Wiring diagram of the electrical components of theinvention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the staplingapparatus is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 and, as inour aforementioned earlier application, embodies in its construction ahorizontally elongated, trough-shaped holder 11 which includes a strip-,

like bottom wall 12 and a pair of relatively high, closely spaced sidewalls 13, 14, so that the trough-shaped holder is relatively deep andnarrow and is open at the top and both ends thereof. One end portion ofthe holder 11 constitutes a loading station indicated at 15, While its3,248,033 Patented Apr. 26, 1966 from the loading station 15 to thestapling station 16,

as examplified by the arrow 20. The belt 17 is driven by an electricmotor 21 through a reduction gearing 22 operatively connected to thepulley 18, the speed of the motor being controlled by a rheostat 23 incircuit with a master switch 24 and a fuse 25, as shown in FIG. 8.

It will be also noted at this point that the bottom portion of theholder 11 is widened as indicated at 12' so that the belt run 17'underlies the lower edges of the side walls 13, 14 to prevent anypossibility of sheets being caught between the belt and the side wallsof the holder.

are flush withthe side wall 13. The stop pins 27, 28

are projected and retracted by individual solenoids 29, 30,respectively, contained in a housing 31 on the [outer surface of theside wall 13.

Similarly, provided adjacent the loading station 15 in the holder 11 isa stop pin 32 which is "projectable and retractable through the sideWall 13 by a solenoid 33 in a housing 34 on the outside of the sidewall. Also, a pair of juxtaposed micro-switches 35, 36 are mountedexteriorly on the wall 13, these switches having depressib le actuators35', 36, respectively, projecting into the loading station 15.

Referring again to the stapling station 16, a solenoidactuated stapler37 of any suitable conventional construction is mounted at one side ofthe holder, for example on the side Wall 14, so as to deliver a staplethrough an opening in that side wall into a set of sheets in thestapling station; A conventional staple magazine 38 is associated withthe stapler 37 and contains a spring-pressed staple follower 39. Inaccordance with the invention means are provided for warning when thesupply of staples in the magazine is exhausted or nearly so, such meanscomprising either or both a suitable buzzer (not shown) and a warninglight 40 in circuit with a switch 41 mounted on the magazine 38. Asuitable detent 42 is provided, for example on the follower 39, toengage and actuate the switch 41 when the supply of staples in themagazine is exhausted or nearly exhausted, thus energizing the warningmeans 40. As shown in FIG. 8, the stapler 37 is other end portionconstitutes a stapling station indicated energized through a suitablepower-pack 43, and if desired, the switch 41 may be double-sided, havinga normally open side in circuit with the warning means 40 and a normallyclosed side in circuit with the power pack 43 through a resistor 44, thearrangement being such that when the switch 41 is engaged by the detent42, the warning means 40 become energized and supply of current from thepower pack 43 to the stapler 37 is inter-v Provided at the relativelyopposite side of the holder 11 (as on the side 13) in transversealignment with the stapler 37 is an anvil unit 45 which includes ananvil bar 46 having one end portion thereof slidably projectable throughan opening in the Wall 13 into the stapling-station 16 so as to back upthe'sheets in the stapling station I against the driving force of thestapler 37 and to clinch the staple after it is driven.

The anvil unit 45 includes a supporting bracket 47 provided at the topthereof with an opening 48, and an interi-a block 49, provided at theouter end of the anvil bar 46, projects through'the opening 48 into thebracket 47, as shown in FIGS. and 6. A stem 50 passes slidably throughthe outer end of the bracketand through the inertia block 49, having itsinner end connected as at 51 to the armature 52 of a solenoid 53,mounted Within the bracket. When the solenoid 53 is energized, itsarmature 52 is driven in the direction of the arrow 54, thus projectingthe anvil bar 46 into the stapling station through the wall 13 to backup the sheets therein against the driving force of the stapler. However,it will he noted that a compression spring 55 is provided in the block49 on the stem 50, this spring becoming compressed when the anvil bar 46comes into backing engagement with the sheets before the solenoidarmature 52 reaches the inner end of its travel in the direction 54.Thus, the armature is always able to complete its full travel regardlessof the combined thickness of the sheets in the stapling station and thedevice automatically compensates for different numbers of sheets and theresultant thickness of the stapled pad. The inertia block 49 is slidablealong a pair of guide rods 56 provided in the bracket 47 and suitablesprings 57 on the guide rods serve to return the block to its initialposition when the solenoid 53 is not energized. It will be understoodthat the block 49 has sufiicient mass to ine'rtially absorb the shock ofthe driven staple, thus supplementing the force exerted by thecompensating spring 55.

The operation of the various electrical components of the apparatus iscontrolled in a coordinated, cyclic manner by a control unit 60 which,as indicated in FIG. 1, may be contained in a separate housing andelectrically connected to the various components by suitable conductors61. A diagrammatic illustration of the control mechanism appears in FIG.8, wherein it will be noted that the mechanism includes a timer controlmotor 62 driving a shaft 63 on which are mounted a plurality of cams 64,65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 and 72, actuating the switches 74,75, 76, 77,78, 79, 80, 81 and 82, respectively.

The switch 74 is thetimer homing switch and is in circuit with theaforementioned switches 35, 36 in the loading station 15. The switch'75is connected in series with the solenoid 33' which actuates the stop pin32 in the loading station. The switch 76 is in series with the solenoid53 which actuates the anvil bar 46 at the first position of sheets inthe stapling station 16, while the switch 77 actuates the stapler 37through the power pack 43 also at the first position of sheets in thestapling station. The switch 78 is in series with the solenoid 29 whichactuates the stapling station stop pin 27. The switch 79 actuates theanvil 46 by energizing the solenoid 53 at the second position of sheetsin the stapling station, while the switch 80 actuates the stapler 37through the power pack 43 at the second stapling position. The switch 81in series with the solenoid 30 actuates the second stapling station stoppin 28, while the purpose of the remaining switch 82 will be hereinafterdescribed. A selector switch 85 is provided in circuit with the switches77 and 80 so that a staple may be driven either at both the first andthe second stapling positions or at the second stapling position only.

Before proceeding to describe the operation of the invention it shouldbe noted that the aforementioned conveyor belt pulley 18 at the loadingend of the. holder 11 is provided on the periphery thereof with aplurality of flat faces 18' so that when the belt is'driven and sheetsto be stapled are deposited into the loading station 15, the pulley 18causes the belt to be joggedin a vertical direction, thus also joggingthe sheets and causing their lower edges to come into proper contactwith the belt. FIG. 7 shows a slight modification of this arrangementwherein the belt pulley 18a is also equipped with a radially projectingjogging lug 85, ad-

justably held in place by aset screw 86, whereby the amplitude of 'beltjogging may be varied as desired.

In operation, the master switch 24 is .closed and the motor 21 is thusenergized to drive the conveyor belt 17 in a continuous manner. Aplurality of juxtaposed sheets to be stapled are then inserteddownwardly into the loading station 15 so that they occupy the positionindicated by the dotted lines S in FIG. 3 on top of the belt run 17'.Movement of the belt in the direction of the arrow 20 causes the leadingedges 8' of the sheets to come in contact with the stop pin 32projectcausing the switch 35 to open and the switch 36 to close.

The open switch 35 prevents the timer control motor 62 from beingenergized, but as the jogging of the sheets continues so that theleading edges 5' of all the sheets engage the stop pin 32, the trailingedges S" of all the sheets clear the switch actuator 35' and permit theswitch 35 to close.

With the switch 36 still closed, closing of the switch 35 energizes thetimer control motor 62 which rotates.

the shaft 63 with the several cams 64-72 thereon for sequentiallyactuating the several switches 74-82. First,

the cam 64 closes the switch 74 to keep the motor 62 1 energizedindependently of he swiches 35, 36 for the The cam 65 i also closes theswitch 75, thus energizing the solenoid duration of the entire cycle ofoperation.

whereupon closing of the switch 77 by the cam 67 energizes the stapler37 and causes a staple to be applied The switches to the sheets at thefirst stapling position. 76 and 77 arethen opened by their respectivecams,

permitting the anvil bar 46 to be withdrawn and the:

stapler power pack 43 to be recharged.

As rotation of the shaft 63 continues, the cam 68 closes the switch 78,thus energizing the solenoid 29;;

and retracting the first stop pin 27 from the stapling station. Thispermits the stapled sheets to be delivered by the belt 17 to the secondstapling position wherein the leading edges of the sheets come intoabutment 32 to its projected position, permitting the anvil bar 46 to beretracted, and the stapler power pack 43 to. be

with the second stop pin 28 as indicated-at Sb. The.

switch 79 is then closed by the cam 69, again energizing the solenoid 53to bring the anvil bar 46 against the sheets, whereupon closing of theswitch 80 by the cam again energizes the stapler 37, causing a staple tobe applied to the sheets at the second stapling position.

Thereupon the switches 75, 79 and are opened by their respective cams,thereby returning the stop pin recharged. The cam 71 then closes theswitch 81, energizing the solenoid 30 and retracting the second stop pin28 so that the completed pad of sheets, stapled.

. at two positions, may be discharged from the apparatus by theconveyorbelt 17 to a pad stacking apparatus such as is shown at theright hand side of FIG. 1 in V the aforementioned application serial No.275,289. The

last cam 72, actuating the switch 82, may be used for energizing asolenoid 83 for effecting the pad stacking operation which isseparatefrom the stapling operation 'herein described.

Further rotation of the shaft 63 opens the switches 78 and 81 to returnthe stop pins 27, 28 to their projected position, and in the final phaseof the operational cycle the switch 74 is opened by the cam 64, thusdiscontinuing the supply of current to the timer motor 62. The apparatusis then in readiness for the next cycle of operation.

While in the foregoing there has been described and shown the preferredembodiment of the invention, various modifications may become apparentto those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly,it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure, and variousmodifications and equivalents maybe resorted to, falling within thespirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In an apparatus for stapling sheets into pads, the combination of aholder having a loading station and a stapling station therein, saidholder including a pair of horizontally spaced upright walls open at thetop of the holder to receive a set of juxtaposed sheets in asubstantially vertical position therebetween, endless conveyor meansprovided at the bottom of said holder for supporting the bottom edges ofsaid set of sheets and delivering the set of sheets from said loadingstation to said stapling station, movable stop means disposed adjacentsaid loading station in said holder and normally positioned across thepath of travel of said set of sheets, means for jogging said conveyormeans and the setof sheets thereon in said loading station tofrictionally engage the bottom edges of the individual sheets in the setwith said conveyor means and to align leading edges of the individualsheets against said stop means, means for withdrawing said stop meansfrom across the path of travel of said set of sheets to permit deliverythereof by said conveyor means to said stapling station, and means atthe stapling station for stapling the individual sheets in the settogether. I

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said conveyor means includean endless belt having an upper run traveling along the bottom of saidholder, and pulleys provided at the ends of said belt, said joggingmeans being embodied in one of said pulleys and said one pulleyembodying said jogging means being disposed below said loading stationfor imparting vertical jogging to the upper run of said belt.

3. In an apparatus for stapling sheets into pads, the combination of aholder having a loading station and a stapling station therein, saidholder including a pair of horizontally spaced upright walls open at thetop of the holder to receive a set of juxtaposed sheets in asubstantially vertical position therebetween, endless conveyor meansprovided at the bottom of said holder for supporting bottom edges ofsaid set of sheets and delivering the set of sheets from said loadingstation to said stapling station, means for edge-aligning said set ofsheets on said conveyor means preparatory to stapling, an electricallyactuated stapler provided at one side of the stapling station in saidholder for stapling the set of sheets into a pad, and an electricallyactuated anvil provided at the relatively opposite side of said staplingstation in transverse alignment with said stapler for backing up the setof sheets against the staple driving force during the stapling op-'eration.

4. The device as defined in claim 3 wherein said anvil is projectableinto and retractable from said stapling station.

includes a staple supply magazine, together with electrical warningmeans responsive to the presence of staples in said magazine forindicating when the staple supply is exhausted.

7. In an apparatus for stapling sheets into pads, the combination of aholder having a loading station and a stapling station therein, saidholder including a pair of horizontally spaced upright walls open at thetop of the holder to receive a set of juxtaposed sheets in asubs'tantially vertical position therebetween, endless conveyor meansprovided at the bottom of said holder for supporting bottom edges ofsaid set of sheets and delivering the set of sheets from said loadingstation to said stapling station, movable stop means disposed adjacentsaid loading station in said holder and normally positioned across thepath of travel of said set of sheets, means for joggling said conveyormeans and the set of sheets thereon in said loading station tofrictionally engage the bottom edges of the individual sheets in the setwith said conveyor means and to align leading edges of the individualsheets against said stop means,means for withdrawing said stop meansfrom across the path of travel of said set of sheets to permit deliverythereof bysaid conveyor means to said stapling station, anelectricallyactuated stapler provided at one side of said staplingstation for stapling the set of sheets into a pad, and an electricallyactuated anvil provided at the relatively opposite side of said staplingstation in transverse alignment with said stapler for backing up the setof sheets against the staple driving force during the staplingoperation.

8. The device as defined in claim 7 wherein said anvil includes an anvilbar projectable into and retractable from said stapling station,together with solenoid means for projecting said anvil bar, andresiliently compressible means reacting between said solenoid means andsaid anv-il bar to render the same self-adjusting in compensation fordifferent thicknesses of pads to be stapled.

-9. The device as defined in claim 8 together with an inertia blockcarried by said anvil bar and having sufiicient mass to substantiallysupplement said resiliently compressible means in reacting against thedriving force of said stapler during the stapling operation.

10. The device as defined in claim 7 together with an electric timerswitch mechanism for sequentially coordinating the operation of saidstop withdrawing means, said anvil and said stapler.

11. The device as defined in claim 10 together with switch meansresponsive to presence and proper positioning of the set of sheets insaid loading station for actuating said timer switch mechanism.

I12. The device as defined in claim 7 wherein said stapler includes astaple magazine supply, together with electrical warning meansresponsive to the presence of "staples in said magazine for indicatingwhen the staple supply is exhausted.

No references cited.

GRANVILLE Y. CUS'IlER, JR., Primary Examiner.

1. IN AN APPARATUS FOR STAPLING SHEETS INTO PADS, THE COMBINATION OF AHOLDER HAVING A LOADING STATION AND A STAPLING STATION THEREIN, SAIDHOLDER INCLUDING A PAIR OF HORIZONTALLY SPACED UPRIGHT WALLS OPEN AT THETOP OF THE HOLDER TO RECEIVE A SET OFJUXTAPOSED SHEETS IN ASUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL POSITION THEREBETWEEN, ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEANSPROVIDED AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID HOLDER FOR SUPPORING THE BOTTOM EDGES OFSAID SET OF SHEETS AND DELIVERING THE SET OF SHEETS FROM SAID LOADINGSTATION TO SAID STAPLING STATION, MOVABLE STOP MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENTSAID LOADING STATION IN SAID HOLDER AND NORMALLY POSITIONED ACROSS THEPATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID SET OF SHEETS, MEANS FOR JOGGING SAID CONVEYORMEANS AND TH E SET OF SHEETS THEREON IN SAID LOADING STATION TOFRICTIONALLY ENGAGE THE BOTTOM EDGES OF THE INDIVIDUAL SHEETS IN THE SETWITH SAID CONVEYOR MEANS AND TO ALIGN LEADING EDGES OF THE INDIVIDUALSHEETS AGAINST SAID STOP MEANS, MEANS FOR WITHDRAWING SAID STOP MEANSFROM ACROSS THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID SET OF SHEETS TO PERMIT DELIVERYTHEREOF BY SAID CONVEYOR MEANS TO SAID STAPLING STATION, AND MEANS ATTHE STAPLING STATION FOR STAPLING THE INDIVIDUAL SHEETS IN THE SETTOGETHER.